Receptacle closure



July 29, 1941.

A. MEROLLE- RECEPTACLE CLOSURE Filed Dec. 8, 1937 FIG.4

a 5 INVENTOR.

BY 72%;, ATTORNEY.

, m T: m g R Patented July 29, 1941 UNITE Tl' RECEPTAGLE CLO-SURE Augustus L. Merolle, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Empire Metal Cap 00. Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a

corporation of New York Application December 8, 1937, Serial No. 178,708

2 Claims.

This invention pertains to closures and more particularly to the type of closures that are used on the bottles which employ metallic caps having .crimped edges to secure the bottle cap to the open end of a bottle neck.

The art discloses that heretofore metallic closures of the type which are crimped along one edgethereof to readily secure said closures to a beaded edge of a bottle neck, were undesirable since it was necessary in order to remove said closures from the bottle neck, to obtain a separate mechanical device to be used in conjunction with said closure. The mechanical devices, commonly called bottle openers, frequently become worn out through continuous use and often become damaged. If the bottle opener does become damaged in such a way that it ineffectively removes the closure from the bottle neck, the result is that the container, if made of glass, may become chipped causing particles of glass to fall within the container which may result in serious injury "to a human being who might accidentally consume a portion of the contents of the bottle which may have a splinter of glass concealed by said liquid.

To avoid the undesirable features of the type bottle opener which is separated from the closure per se, this novel invention combines the bottle opener with the closure in such a way that it is securely locked between the metallic bottle top and the sealing means which directly engages the aperture of the container.

The object of this invention is to provide a closure means for bottles and the like, said closure having self-contained means for removing the closure per se from rigid frictional engagement with the bottle neck.

A further object of this invention is to provide a combination closure for bottles and the like, said closure having a lever arrangement associated with said closure to comprise a single unit.

A further object of the invention is to provide unitary sealing means for bottles and the like, said sealing means comprising a resilient closure with means for fixedly securing said sealing means in frictional engagement with a bottle or the like and lever means for removing the closure from engagement with the bottle.

A further object will become apparent during the relation of certain features of construction and arrangements of parts to be hereinafter fully described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing and more specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail, reference may be had to the drawing wherein like characters denote like corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a top View of the bottle cap showing the lever arrangement for removing the cap from the bottle, partof saidleverbeing shown dotted.

Figure 2.is a sectional view of Figure 1 showing the crimped closure means in engagement with the neck of a bottle.

Figure 3 is a sectional view similar to Figure 2 but with the closure removing lever partially operated.

Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to Figure 2 with the closure means substantially out of rigid frictional engagement with the bottle top, said lever being in approximately a fully operated position.

Figure 5 isa view taken at right angles to Figure 4, showing in elevation the lever for removing the closure means, said closure means per se being shown in section.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Figure 1 which is a top view, there is a closure 6 having a slot 1 in the upper surface thereof and a lever 8 having one end thereof extending from the inside, through the aperture 1 to lie substantially horizontal with, but slightly inclined with, the upper surface of the closure.

While the specific drawing herewith shows that the lever 8 is parallel with an inclined section 9 of the upper part of said closure '6, it is to be understood that the particular angle of the lever 8 in relation to the edges l0lll, shown more clearly in Figure 2, may be varied.

Referring specifically to Figure 2, a cross sectional view of the top of a bottle ll, has the closure securely crimped on to a beaded edge l2, of a bottle top. The part l3, on Figures 1 and 2 are the indented or depressed edges of the bottle top which frictionally engage the narrowed portion of the beaded edge of the bottle top.

The reference numeral 14 designates a sealing means which actually contacts the upper rim l5 of the bottle neck H. This sealing means may be of any suitable material such as cork, fibrous material. either natural or fabricated, or it may be cork, with a thin layer of foil on the underneath side. However, the particular material from which the sealing member is manufactured is not of primary importance but, suifice it to say, that any material may be used which is resilient to the extent that it may be bent or depressed by the lever B sufficiently to properly work or be operated as set forth in the present invention.

In Figure 2, it is noted that the portion of the lever 8 which extends through the aperture '1 and is outside of the bottle, extends slightly beyond the peripheral edge of the metallic closure 6. The purpose of this extension or protuberance is to permit the lever to be grasped or engaged with any means so that the lever may be raised or moved in angular relation with the upper surface of the closure 6. This protuberance of the lever 8 eliminates any fumbling, prying or probing which might be required if said means were not provided.

In the present invention, it is shown that the lever 8 extends beyond the edge of I0l0 of the closure 8, and it is pointed out that this is a desirable feature, yet any equivalent means may be used for permitting the user to grasp the end of the lever without prying or probing for same with any implement such as a wedge.

In Figure 3, the portion of the lever 8 which is between the lower surface of the metallic closure and the upper surface of the resilient sealing means, is widened so that it is arcuate along its edge adjacent the side portion of the metallic closure 6 to more closely conform to the shape of the bottle top so that the pressure which will be exerted by operating the lever B will be more evenly distributed on the edge of the bottle neck I l In Figure 3 the arcuate section l6 of the lever 8 is shown depressing one edge of the resilient sealing means M. This is due to the fact that the bent lever 8 is being raised by force exerted in the direction shown by the arrow I! in which case a part of the top I8 which is, in fact, an

edge of the slot 1. This edge 18 acts as a fulcrum for the lever B so that the force exerted upward at I! will cause the lever portion I6 to be exerted downwardly to compress the resilient member l4 so that the resistance of the crimped edges l3 which engage the underside of the beaded edge of the bottle neck ll is overcome to the extent that as the continued movement of the lever 8 moves the bottle closure 6 away from the neck of the bottle II, as shown in Figure 4, the closure 6 becomes spread at its lower peripheral edge, permitting a continued upward movementof the lever 8 to entirely free'the closure from the neck of the bottle.

In Figure 5, the lever B is shown in relation to the aperture 1 to more clearly indicate that the widened arcuate section [6 cannot possibly become disassociated with the closure.

The resilient sealing means I4 is not shown in Figure 5 since it is desirous in this view to indicate that the shape of the arcuate section I6 is such that it must positively engage the bottle top edge l5 and cannot exert any pressure on the resilient sealing means which might cause any portion of said sealing means to fall within the container.

While the foregoing statements have set forth that the closure 6 per se is metallic, it is not necessarily true that this is compulsory, since any other material such as fibre may be used to form a part of the closure, since the crimped edges are not the only means of securing the bottle top of the bottle.

While specific details of the invention have herein been shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto as changes and alterations may be and may become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a closure for bottles having a beaded edge, a cap with a crimped edge for holding said closure in fixed relation with a bottle, a sealing disc inserted within said cap, and means intermediate said cap and said disc for removing said closure from a bottle, said means comprising a lever having two flat arms substantially parallel and ofiset with relation to each other, said cap having a slot in its top wall and said lever being fulcrumed at its said offset portion at one side of said slot, said lever overlying the top Wall of said cap for a portion of its length.

2. A container closure comprising a metallic cap having a slot in the top thereof, a portion of said top being inclined from the outer peripheral edge thereof inwardly to one edge of said slot to form an outwardly opening channel for receiving a portion of an opening lever, a sealing disc inserted within said cap and an opening lever passing through said slot and bent where it passes through said slot, a portion of said lever lying within said channel and overlying the top wall of said cap.

AUGUSTUS L. MEROLLE. 

